Hagia Sophia has had a long and varied history. Originally constructed as a church between A.D. 532 and 537 by Byzantine Emperor Justinian, it was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly 1000 years, until the completion of Seville Cathedral in 1520. In 1453, the Ottomans conquered Istanbul, and Sultan Mehmed II ordered it converted from a cathedral to a mosque. A few architechtural adjustments were made, relics vanished, and the cathedral's mosaics were plastered over. In 1935, President Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (great guy) ordered Ayasofya made into a museum. You'll notice an abudance of scaffolding in various pictures; Sophia is undergoing a long and painstaking restoration. Care is being taken to balance the original Christian iconography and later Muslim additions. Quite unfairly, Sophia has suffered severe earthquake damage, and it's estimated that another severe quake could possibly destroy her.
These photos are from a Rotary trip in late September. Apologies for taking so long to post them, and claps on the back to Anne, for yelling at me until I did.
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